Fulham's Bobby Zamora has finals in sights

Wolfsburg 0 Fulham 1 (Fulham win 3-1 on aggregate)

You would have got long odds at the start of the season on Fulham reaching the final of the Europa League and Bobby Zamora making England’s World Cup squad. But both moved another step closer to reality last night.

Zamora’s first-minute goal, the 16th of a personal campaign that continues to defy even the most firmly entrenched critics from last season, was enough for his club to add Wolfsburg to a growing list of slain giants.

And only a fool, or perhaps a Liverpool supporter given they too landed in the other semi-final, would bet big money on Zamora and his team-mates not returning here to Germany for the final in May.

The question of Zamora’s attendance in South Africa is a little bit more of a long shot despite his manager Roy Hodgson once again wondering aloud what more he has to do to gain proper international recognition. But that is Fabio Capello’s problem, even if he made it quite clear where he stands.

Last night’s quarter-final second leg in the Volkswagen Arena was Fulham’s 54th game of a season that stretches back to their early qualifying effort in this competition in July last year.

It is a run, allied to the demands of ensuring Premier League survival and passage to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, that has threatened, in theory at least, to stretch their resources beyond breaking point. For all that, though the extra payload has tested both fitness and resolve, winning has been its own tonic and Fulham have coped admirably with the extra demands.

Indeed, on the evidence of the eyes here as well as against Juventus and Shakhtar Donetsk in the previous rounds, far from tiring they are simply getting better.

Zamora had been a slight doubt after knocking his Achilles in training - he was rested against Wigan at the weekend - but Hodgson never really looked like a man worried that his leading striker would not make it.

Never in Hodgson’s wildest dreams could he have envisaged any element of risk in putting him in being rewarded so spectacularly early. Zamora will almost certainly never stop the clock quicker, either. With the referee still pausing for breath after sounding the opening whistle, Zoltan Gera slid the ball to Zamora on the edge of the box.

The first touch took Jan Simunek out of the piece and, spinning away to his right, Zamora’s second touch buried a left-foot shot inside Diego Benaglio’s far post with just 21 seconds gone. The goal was his eighth in this competition and a massive blow for any tactical plans the German champions might have had. And while they recovered in the immediate aftermath to test Mark Schwarzer and for Grafite to have the ball in the net only to be correctly ruled offside just minutes later, as the half wore on, Fulham dominated.

The Germans’ set-up, with five men in attacking roles, left gaps in midfield which Hodgson’s men exploited, retaining possession and probing.

Wolfsburg were alarmed to switch things after half an hour, bringing busy Ashkan Dejagah on for Peter Pekarik. And while he caused a few problems, nearly panicking Aaron Hughes into turning the ball into his own net just short of half-time, Fulham held firm.

Wolfsburg came at them with a little more venom in the second half, but Fulham had the more clear-cut chances. Zamora was denied a second with a fine one-handed stop from Benaglio and Simon Davies had an even better chance, clean through only to hit his shot straight at the advancing keeper.

Edin Dzeko forced a fine save from Mark Schwarzer with a volley after 75 minutes and - after Danny Murphy saw Andrea Barzagli clear his shot off the line - was also denied by the post.

The rebound fell to Grafite who confirmed it was not to be their night by hammering his shot into the only bit of the goal that had a Fulham leg. Brede Hangeland gratefully hooked clear.

Hodgson, who had saluted the cool finish from Zamora, suggested that with calmer heads, Fulham could have eased home with a degree more comfort. As it was, 3-1 on aggregate was sufficient. Fulham will face Hamburg in their semi-final – away on April 22 and at Craven Cottage on April 29 – but Hodgson refused to look much beyond the flight home and a visit to Liverpool on Sunday.

He said: “All my thoughts were on this quarter-final to be honest but we know that the quality and standard of the Bundesliga is very high. We will face an arduous task but we will have a very good chance.”